What “Freeview installation” usually means

Freeview is the UK’s free-to-air digital terrestrial TV service. Most modern TVs have a Freeview tuner built in — what people typically mean by “Freeview installation” is the aerial installation plus the tuning step.

If your TV is older or you want recording, you’ll need a Freeview Play box (Manhattan T3-R, Humax FVP-5000T are the current popular options). We supply or you supply — your choice.

Steps

Aerial install — see TV Aerial Installation for the survey, group, mounting and cabling detail.
Receiver placement — TV or Freeview box, near a power socket.
Channel scan — five-minute first-time setup; the TV (or box) finds every channel your aerial can pick up.
Channel order tidy-up — most TVs default to a messy order. We re-sort so BBC One is button 1, etc. (You’d be surprised how much this matters when relatives visit.)
Retune-on-demand explanation — Freeview occasionally retunes (new MUX, channel reshuffle). We show you how to retune in 30 seconds so you don’t need a callout.

Common reasons Freeview isn’t working

Aerial points the wrong way (mostly post-storm).
Cable damage where it crosses a tile.
Splitter or amplifier failure.
Local transmitter engineering (always check the Freeview channel checker first).
4G/5G mobile interference at 700–800 MHz (Restore TV provides free filters in affected areas).

Full troubleshooting is in our Why has my Freeview signal disappeared guide.